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Creating an unschooling curriculum
Welcome to the first of our unschooling blogs! As a slow-traveling, digital nomad family, we also identify as unschoolers. In this article, we’ll share some of our insights about unschooling. And although it’s somewhat of an oxymoron, we’ll talk a bit about how you can create your own unschooling curriculum.
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During COVID, many parents suddenly found themselves at home with the kids. Their child’s school might have had strict expectations around the material to be covered at home. Some schools were more relaxed, but the parents may have had their own self-imposed expectations. Often, these were around what they thought they “should” be doing to educate their child during this time.
Just how many hats can a parent wear?
Feeling completely ill-equipped to meet these expectations, many parents became very overwhelmed. Their already full schedules completely overflowed with the addition of working from home. At the same time, they were trying to fill the gap in their children’s education.
Some let go of trying to homeschool at all. Maybe there was simply no time on top of everything else. Or their kids didn’t respond to being “taught” by their parents. And then one of two things probably happened:
- The parents let go (a little or a lot) because they couldn’t keep up with everything. They simply hoped that their kid could get back on track ok when school started again
- They realized that their kid was learning a lot from life itself. Maybe they were learning different things, or learning similar things in different ways. Either way, they were definitely still learning
Unschooling families like us have consciously stepped outside of the traditional school system. Maybe you have too. Or maybe you’re arriving at this post because you’re looking for a preschool homeschool curriculum, a kindergarten homeschool curriculum, or a homeschool curriculum for older children?
Perhaps you’re one of the parents who suddenly found themselves with their kids at home, and you’re wondering what to do with them. Maybe you even consciously decided to homeschool your kids. If you’ve now become curious about unschooling, then you’re in the right place.
When you unschool, you can remove one of those many hats (and no, you don’t need an unschooling curriculum as such)
Here’s a little insight into unschooling: you can take off one of those hats. Ok, so if your kid was at school but now they’re not, you might need to go through something called “deschooling” first. This is essentially the transition from schooling to non-schooling.
But the great news is that your child is absolutely capable of learning and thriving outside of a traditional school system.
In this post, we’re going to explain a bit about unschooling and why an unschooling curriculum is a bit of an oxymoron. Then we’ll share the reasons we unschool our kids and a bit about what it looks like for us. Finally, we’ll share some unschooling resources, including a great program for holistic home learning. It’s not exactly an unschooling curriculum, but it will give you the confidence you need to facilitate your child’s learning. [If you can’t wait, then take a sneak peek here].
What is the unschooling method?
Also known as “life schooling” or “non-schooling”, the unschooling philosophy is essentially a child-led method of learning. Life itself is full of opportunities to learn, and unschoolers fully embrace this knowledge.
The late John Holt was an early advocate for homeschooling and, more specifically, the unschooling method. After working as a teacher in the 1950s, he went on to write the book How Children Fail, which highlighted his observations of the problems (such as grading and testing) in the American school system. He subsequently wrote How Children Learn to demonstrate how children learn and how parents can support their children’s natural ability to learn.
There is no formal unschooling curriculum or planning involved with unschooling. This allows children to choose what they learn about and when they want to learn it. Learning happens through play, exploration, everyday activities and chores, experiences, and, well… life.
Essentially, learning and life are one. They’re interwoven and inseparable. Unschooling parents don’t tell their children what to learn. Instead, they help facilitate their child’s learning by offering them the freedom to explore their passions and interests. They work alongside their child to provide environments and resources that help to nourish the child’s natural curiosity and eagerness to learn.
Unschooling vs. homeschooling
Homeschooling and unschooling are both forms of home education. And they’re not necessarily separate entities. Think of home education as a continuum. One end is very formal, and the other end is completely informal. Home educators will likely identify with one area on the continuum. And maybe some aspects of their homeschooling life are more formal, and others less so.
Homeschoolers at the formal end of the continuum are very likely to follow a curriculum and may even use the exact same one that local schools use. So essentially, they’re doing school at home.
Unschooling is at the informal end of the homeschooling continuum. It’s a branch of homeschooling, also called “no schooling homeschooling”.
What is radical unschooling?
Right at the most informal end of this is something which is known as “radical unschooling”. Radical unschoolers extend their child-led philosophy into all areas of life, including bedtimes, chores, and family outings. An exact definition is definitely a subject for debate, even amongst unschoolers. Essentially, however, radical unschooling simply erases any distinction between educational and non-educational activities.
There can often be a stigma attached to the term “radical unschooling”. Although the media might portray it as such, it doesn’t mean the abdication of personal responsibility or boundaries for the child. It certainly doesn’t mean “un-parenting”. Radical unschooling parents see the value in offering their child choices and the opportunity to make decisions in all areas of life. Done well, their role as a guide will be very intentional and child-centered.
[Although it’s not exactly an unschooling curriculum, this home education accelerator program can be used for homeschoolers and radical unschoolers alike].
Disadvantages of unschooling
Critics of homeschooling and unschooling often pull out the socialization “issue”. This is something that has been ingrained in society’s mentality. Even from well-meaning non-homeschooling parents, the “what about socialization” question seems to roll off the tongue before anything else comes to mind.
Critics argue that homeschooled and unschooled children are socially disadvantaged because they don’t have the same opportunities to spend time with their peers. They seem to believe that homeschooled children will struggle with the social skills required for the “real world”.
Sure, if we were going to keep our kids inside forever and avoid interactions with the outside world, there might be some merit to this statement.
However, school is not the only place to socialize. And we personally don’t think it’s the best place for socialization. Children at school are mostly interacting with other children their own age. In our experience, many homeschooled and especially unschooled children are able to develop incredible social skills by interacting with a wide range of ages and people from many walks of life. [This is also possible for children who attend school; we’re just saying that this generally isn’t done well inside the school system].
When unschooling doesn’t work
Sure, there will be instances when unschooling fails or doesn’t work. And it’s certainly not going to be the first choice for every family. We’re not saying that it’s the best choice for everyone, but simply that it’s a valid and exciting choice for many families to explore.
I’m not going to lie and say that it’s easy being with my kids all the time. With a 6-year-old and a 1-year-old, the days can be very full on. And this is without any scheduling. Sometimes it’s tantrums (not only from the kids!) and chaos, and I wonder what on earth we did all day or why we couldn’t get out the door till 3 pm.
We’re raising confident, determined free-thinkers, and that certainly comes with its challenges for mum and dad!
But then I focus on the big picture. On the days when it feels hard and like school would be a much easier option, I think of the long term. As parents, we are learning every day how to make all this work. We’re growing alongside our children and are humble enough to admit when we’ve made poor choices. Working through the challenges together allows us to gain a deep understanding of how to meet the individual needs of each family member, as thorny as the process can be.
Why did we choose unschooling?
Both Colin and I went through the traditional school system, although our routes to further education and University degrees were somewhat different! [In case you’re wondering, homeschooled kids and unschooled kids can still go on to complete tertiary education if they choose to.
I left school at 17 and completed a double degree. In contrast, Colin left school at 16 with no significant formal qualifications and didn’t think about further education again until his late 20s. Even then, it was only some evening classes at a local tech college.
But after several twists and turns in life, in his mid-30s, he went from having no formal qualifications to earning an MBA from one of the UK’s top business schools. (The University of Durham Business School).
I personally loved many aspects of my school life, and it’s not like I necessarily wanted to rebel against it. Essentially, (and I speak on behalf of both of us now), the number one word that describes our parenting philosophy, and life in general, is “intentional”. Instead of following the masses, we stop to ask questions about every decision we make and whether it aligns with how we want to live our lives, both now and in the future.
Ultimately, we decided we wanted to spend plenty of time with our kids and that homeschooling or unschooling would make this possible. We didn’t want our kids to spend more time with a school teacher each day than they did with us. So we set about creating a lifestyle that would make this possible.
The gradual evolution from a homeschooling to an unschooling mindset
With all this in mind, we knew we would intend to homeschool from the beginning. We gradually evolved towards a more unschooling approach. This was in part because it was simply too all-consuming for me to stick to a rigid routine.
Along our journey, we also got to know several unschooling families and met unschooled kids who were now grown up. We realized how like-minded we were, and it gave us the confidence that unschooling was a very valid and exciting option, full of opportunities for the whole family.
Unschooling was also simply an extension of our parenting philosophy. The theory of attachment parenting really resonated with us. Alongside this, we followed our children’s rhythms from birth, rather than trying to mold them to our own schedules. This included choices such as babywearing, breastfeeding on demand, and baby-led weaning. Unschooling allows us to continue this pattern of following the child’s rhythms.
Why unschooling works
As unschooling parents, we know that learning happens all the time. It’s incredible how open children’s minds are, and we are grateful to witness the amazing learning that happens all the time.
Self-directed education allows for natural child-led learning. We love that our children can learn at their own pace and fully follow their passions and interests. It would be a very rare occasion for us to hear our daughter say that she is “bored”. Children are naturally curious and excited to discover everything about the world around them. When we nurture that curiosity by involving them with everyday activities and asking for their input, the magic really happens.
We also believe that unschooling allows for effective use of time. There is no lining up or organizing large groups of children. When a child is deeply engrossed in an activity, they can continue doing it as long as they like, rather than being moved onto another task that is out of sync with where their thoughts are at. This allows them to take a deep dive into subjects at a level that may not be possible inside a traditional school system.
Our children get to wake up without alarms. There is no “over-scheduling” and none of the stress that seems to be associated with keeping up with the expectations of a school.
How unschooling looks for us
I know you want to find out more about this unschooling “curriculum” I’ve mentioned, and I’m aware this post could go on forever. So I’ll keep this section short and expand on it in a related future post.
Essentially, for the first 6 years of our older daughter’s life, the focus has been on play-based learning. The Wardorf education philosophy (Rudolf Steiner) appealed to us, so this was where the inspiration originally came from.
Play is the highest form of research.
Albert Einstein
A few of the ways our older daughter has learned during the first 6 years of her life:
- Mathematics from using everyday household objects such as pens and pencils. She has also recently learned a lot from baking and cooking (think weighing, measuring, doubling recipes, etc).
- Reading, from first of all memorizing books at age two, to reading menus as we slow-traveled for three years around Southeast Asia. [We also identify as world schoolers, which is a topic for another post. Find out more on our “about page“].
- Swimming at age three, simply as a result of being able to play in our condo pool every day in Malaysia
- Creativity through drawing, painting, and various arts and crafts activities
- Risk-taking and confidence from climbing trees
…and much more. I just thought I’d briefly mention the reading and math ones, since I know they’re the most common concerns for families considering unschooling.
Unschooling (where to start): Resources to help you develop your own unschooling “curriculum”
Let’s finish up on some helpful resources so that you can develop your own unschooling curriculum.
There are plenty of “unschooled” books, as well as a great documentary we can recommend.
One of the first books we read, maybe even just before Ayla was born, is called You Are Your Child’s First Teacher. Based on the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner, it will help you gain the confidence to support and nurture your child’s developmental needs from birth to age 6. The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the World as Your Child’s Classroom and Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom are also highly rated.
If you’re wondering about unschooling (where are they now?), we recommend a great documentary. The Self-Taught Movie is about self-directed learners, primarily unschooled children. They’re now all amazing young adults (including Miro Siegel, whom we met personally at the world schooling summit in Chiang Mai in 2018). The documentary shares their stories and is available to stream or purchase on DVD.
A holistic unschooling curriculum for self-directed learning
Unschooling can be done well without spending a huge amount of time planning and organizing what your kids will do. If you want to fully support your kids in learning to their full potential and developing future-oriented life skills, we highly recommend the Home Educator Accelerator program created by our friends Magdalena and Witold. It’s not exactly an unschooling curriculum, but it may be just what you need to support your child’s learning in a holistic way.
We first met Magdalena, Witold, and their son Julius in Bali in 2017, and also spent time with them in Malaysia and Singapore in 2019. Between them, they have an impressive list of qualifications as teacher trainers, curriculum developers, assessors, and evaluators.
They’ve pulled out all their gold nuggets of wisdom from their backgrounds in education. And they’ve combined this with their experience of unschooling and worldschooling their son, Julius, from birth. The result is this fantastic program that will give you the confidence you need to offer your children experiential, whole-person, self-directed learning.
Click here to find out all the details about the program.
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